Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 30, No. 42.
Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London
www.digitalhumanities.org/humanist
Submit to: humanist at lists.digitalhumanities.org
Date: Fri, 20 May 2016 15:24:49 +0000
From: Chris.Bissell <chris.bissell at open.ac.uk>
Subject: UK OU PhD studentship
In-Reply-To: <001301d1b29b$70bdffb0$5239ff10$@ugent.be>
We have a funded PhD studentship which may be of interest to your final year students or those of colleagues. For informal discussion please contact david.chapman at open.ac.uk. See also:
http://www9.open.ac.uk/mct-cc/study/research-degrees/student-projects/examining-historical-roots-and-social-aspects-nature
An interdisciplinary understanding of the nature of information
Topic Description
The information age is an outcome of developments of computing and communications technology, but has consequences for the whole of human existence. Computing and communications engineers deliver digital capabilities that not only change what we can do and how we do it, but can radically change our perception of the world around us and of our own identity. Previously physical entities have become virtual, while experiences, relationships and transactions that were formerly enacted physically have moved into cyberspace. This transition from a physical to an informational world urgently requires new understanding which can only come about from interdisciplinary projects. Specific topics might be:
* a detailed examination of the quantification of information in the engineering, physics, and biology traditions; are there important differences, or is it all really the same?
* when notions of information are taken up by non-tech disciplines, to what extent are these informed by the classical analyses; what is different, and what is qualitative, rather than quantitative?
* how important are information-theoretical ideas for current computing and ICT professionals and researchers?
* is the 'philosophy of information' of any relevance for practitioners?
* is there really an 'information explosion'?
Many thanks
Chris Bissell
Professsor of Telematics
T: +44 (0)1908 652857
research depository: http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/ccb2.html